We were very encouraged to see positive movement this week on an issue that has been on ITIC’s agenda in Kazakhstan for some time. A sustained focus by ITIC and other organizations has made high-level action more likely.

Following the Foreign Investors’ Council meeting on 5 June in Astana, Agris Preimani (EBRD Country Director for Kazakhstan) commented on “the possibility of amending the criminal procedural legislation – in terms of exempting the officials (and) organizations which voluntarily paid their taxes, fines, and penalties charged, from criminal liability for tax evasion regardless of whether the violation was committed for the first time or not.” He also stated that “We (the Council) also recommend an alternative definition of ‘large-scale’ and ‘particularly large-scale damage' for the application of Article 24.5 of the Criminal Code and improvement of the processes of administering and investigating tax criminal offences.”

Moukhit Akhanov is President, ITIC Kazakhstan and Douglas Townsend is a Senior Advisor for ITIC.

ITIC continues to monitor comparative annual studies that analyze progress in economic reform, as a means of attracting foreign investment. Some findings of the ‘bell-wether’ World Bank report, entitled, Doing Business (2018): Measuring Business Regulations (published on 31 October), are set out below for select economies in which ITIC operates.

During the opening session of Kazakhstan’s Parliament on 4 September 2017, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev devoted a large part of his presentation to the challenges facing Kazakhstan’s economy, achieving investment-led growth, and the role of fiscal policy in consolidating recent improvements in GDP growth. He also referenced the new draft Tax Code, which seeks to eliminate ineffective incentives and preferences while diminishing the shadow economy and simplifying tax administration.

Representatives from ministries of finance, tax administrations, academic institutions, and the private sector gathered in Paris on 26-28 June 2017 for ITIC’s 13th annual Eurasia Tax Forum. The themes for this year’s Forum were recommended by regional officials and investors, and they included the following:

ITIC was pleased to join 150 high-level representatives (from IOTA member states, international organizations, businesses, and academic) at the 21st annual General Assembly of the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrations in Kiev, Ukraine on 28-30 June 2017.

Detailing the meeting's deliberations and conclusions, the GA Communiqué specifically focuses on the implications of new business models, including challenges for tax compliance and opportunities for modernizing tax systems.